


Falling

by The_Who



Category: The Newsroom (US TV)
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Assault, Check Warnings, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-18
Updated: 2014-12-08
Packaged: 2017-12-23 21:52:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/931477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Who/pseuds/The_Who
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tea Party supporters get tired of Will McAvoy's constant media attacks and decide to take matters into their own hands.</p><p>Neal Sampat just gets caught in the crossfire</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So the premise of this story is that Neal got assaulted by tea party supporters, and deals with the reactions and aftershocks of that. So please be aware. It's also my first time writing a story anything like this, and my first time writing for the newsroom, so please leave some constructive criticisms so I can work on any issues

The newsroom was eerily quiet when Neal got into work that morning. Even more unusual was the way they were all crowded around Maggie’s computer, faces pale. Mackenzie and Will were even there, staring at the screen with wide, horrified eyes. When all eyes turned to Neal, the ghosts of pity and disgust flickering there, his gut clenched. It took all his willpower not to flee, right there and then.

“Sorry I’m late,” he said instead. “Have I missed anything?” 

There was a stream of hasty denials as his colleagues began to scatter. Mackenzie and Will exchanged an almost silent argument, and Neal had a pretty good idea of what they were talking about. Just as they seemed to reach some sort of conclusion, Charlie swept in.

“Neal, come see me in my office. Now.”

His stomach was filled with lead, mind echoing what had happened to Sloan after her nudes had been leaked. It was going to happen to him, he could tell. And he wasn’t a brilliant economist like Sloan was. He wasn’t vital to the team. Kissing goodbye to a career in journalism seemed like a good idea right about now.

“Look, sir, I’m sorry. I can explain.”

“Kid, you’re not in trouble. I just need to speak to you. Take a seat.”

Neal quickly did as he was instructed, dropping into one of the chairs.

“Now, earlier this morning a video was sent to all the major news corporations with a threat attached. I’m sure you don’t need to know what footage that video contained.”

“I know, and I’m sorry. I know it looks bad for ACN, and I did try--”

“Kid, I don’t give a shit how it looks! It could’ve caused every person in this newsroom to be fired and I would say the same thing! It wasn’t your fault. Now, as of today I am giving you two week’s paid leave and telling you to go talk to a councillor. While you’re away, I’m going to try my best to get every recording of that video destroyed.”

Neal nodded. “Thank you sir.”

“Yea, right. Go grab your stuff. I don’t want to see hide nor hair of you for the next two weeks.”

* * *

 

The newsroom seemed subdued without Neal’s presence. Perhaps, Mackenzie considered, it wasn’t so much his absence as the method in which it had occurred. Her gut clenched slightly when she thought of the video, the way one of her reporters had been... 

 _Don’t think about it, Mac,_ she cut herself off. _You have a show to run._

“Right! Rundown meeting, now!”

Judging by the confused and startled looks shot to her by her various reporters, she wasn’t the only one who needed a distraction. Like zombies, they meandered over to the meeting room, great and slow and lumbering and so unlike the people she knew.

“A block. Ideas.”

Ideas are thrown around and argued about, and if it weren’t for the tense silences between suggestions Mackenzie would’ve been able to pretend there was nothing wrong.

And then Maggie says what Mackenzie’s sure they’ve all been thinking.

“We have to talk about politics and candidates and parties. Including the tea party.”

“No. Absolutely not.” She shouldn’t be shooting it down. She knows as well as everyone else that they shouldn’t let themselves be bullied. But then her mind flashes back to that fucking video and she cannot let them do something that put anyone else on her team at risk. Especially since the last time she’d ignored threats had caused them to be in this situation in the first place.

“It’s still important! We still need to cover this stuff! We need to let those people know that we will not back down, no matter what they do to us.”

“This is different,” Mackenzie said. “This is serious! Until those boys are behind bars, I don’t want anyone to report on the tea party. And I don’t want anyone to go anywhere alone.”

The groans that responded to that last sentence were perfunctory, a habitual response more than any type of protest.

“We can still report on them. Maybe we can just tone it down - no more ‘American Taliban’ comments.”

“I agree with Maggie,” Jim added. “We can’t let them think they’ve gotten to us. And I sincerely doubt Neal would want us to stop reporting the news because of this.”

“This isn’t just about Neal, Jim! He was attacked because he works with Will, which means that anyone in this room could be next.”

“We’ll do what Maggie said! We’ll tone it down, but we can’t stop,” Jim insisted. Mackenzie sighed, but turned to the whiteboard.

“Fine. A block will be political discussions, including the tea party. What else?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING! Goes slightly further into Neal's assault, and has mentions of rape.

Neal wasn’t entirely sure what to do on his two weeks off. His room mate worked full time, so the apartment was empty for the day. Most of his other friends were either working right now, too, or worked for news corporations. And he most certainly did not want to talk to anyone who had seen that video. 

So he found himself laying on the couch, mindlessly browsing the internet for something interesting.

 _You can take the boy from the newsroom, but you can’t take the newsroom from the boy,_ he thought to himself as he automatically bookmarked pages, fingers itching to open another tab and send an email to Mackenzie. He knew it wouldn’t be much use; she never took his ideas or concerns seriously when he was in the newsroom to pressure her, let alone when he was at home, meant to be on two week’s leave.

Let alone after she’d seen that video.

His skin crawls at the idea that anyone had laid eyes on that video. Bad enough that it had happened in the first place. He didn’t need his colleagues, his _friends_  to watch him brought so low.

He could still feel their hands on him, when he closed his eyes and let his mind wander. Tugging and pulling and shoving him to his knees and twisting his arm and bending him over and --

It takes a moment for Neal to realise that the audible hitched breath was his own.

Calming his shaking hands, he flips open a tab and pulls up his email. The various blogs and channels he follows have new messages, but one sticks out.

“Urgent,” he reads, opening the email with just a bit of hesitation. Inside is just avideo file.

_“Dear ACN, associates, and other news producers. We are the tea party supporters, and we are here to send a message.”_

Neal’s stomach lurches as he sees his own frightened face appear on the screen, realising what this video is. 

_“You work for ACN, don’t you?”_

His videoed self nods nervously. _“Yea. Yea, I’m a reporter for... for newsnight with Will McAvoy.”_

Both versions of him flinch as the man behind him grabs his right arm and roughly twists it into a lock, forcing him to bend over slightly.

_“I guess you can say that we’re about to teach a lesson to newsnight and Will McAvoy.”_

The first blow is to his stomach, causing the air from his lungs to go whooshing out. Blow after blow lands as he struggles, until the leader waves his hand and the attack stops. He approaches Neal, who’s panting, and leans in to whisper in his ear. Neal can still feel the ghost of his breath, and though the video doesn’t pick up his words Neal can hear them loud and clear.

_You’re quite a pretty little thing, aren’t you?_

His hand comes to grip his chin, and Neal knows what’s coming next. He knows he should close the video, delete the file, but he can’t pull his eyes away as another hand buries itself in his hair and yanks his head back. The Neal on the screen struggles as the hand that had been on his chin moves down the front of him, playing with the buttons on his shirt briefly before it moves downwards.

 _“Please, stop,”_ he gasps out as the hand comes to the button of his jeans. Neal’s aware of his heart pounding, sweat beading on his forehead as he watches. He can see the other man’s hand fumbling slightly with the button. He knows what’s coming, knows exactly how the attack pans out, he doesn’t need to watch it again, but he can’t pull his eyes away.

A knock at the door brings him out of his trance.

“Neal! Neal, you there? I brought thai food!”

Neal slammed his laptop shut as Jim’s voice rang through the apartment.

“Yea, I’m here!” he called back. Slipping his laptop onto the table, he jumped up to open the door. “Shouldn’t you be at work?”

Jim shrugged his shoulders, pushing his way into the apartment. “Not much is happening, so Mac’s fine with us going off. Thought you could use the company. We should dig in, by the way. Before it gets cold.”

The pair of them sit on the couch in awkward silence. Jim kept on glancing his way, infuriating pity shining in his eyes. It was not at all what Neal needed at that moment.

“How’re you feeling?” Jim asked eventually. Neal shrugged.

“I’m a bit bored, to be honest. I can’t remember the last time I’ve had this much free time on my hands.”

“Yea, I can imagine. You going to work on another bigfoot presentation?” he asked, and the teasing smile was more like it.

“Only if you guy’s will actually sit through it. And there’s no breaking news in the middle of it. And you and everyone else finally figures out that the glass isn’t soundproof.”

“It should be, though,” Jim countered. “We should get soundproof glass.”

“Yeah. Then maybe I could finally get some work done _without_ having to listen to you guys whinge about your love lives.”

“Aw, come on. You enjoy it.”

“No, I really don’t. Even when there’s no unsoundproof glass, you always end up standing around _my_ desk! You have your own desk! Maggie has her own desk! Will has his own bloody office!”

Jim laughed. “Oh, come on. How would you function without all the office gossip?”

“A lot more efficiently,” Neal said, a smiling slightly.

“Oh, guess what! Will is actually trying to write his own blog, since you’re gone.”

“Oh, god,” Neal groaned. “Is the site still functioning?”

“Barely. He somehow managed to get into the coding. Look,” Jim said, and before Neal could protest he grabbed the laptop and flicked it open.

The shot of Neal’s bruised and battered face, held up by his hair, filled the screen, and Jim and Neal both froze.

“They sent you a copy,” Jim breathed.

“It’s no big deal,” Neal insisted, quickly reaching over and quitting the video. He could see the disbelief in Jim’s eyes. “I’m fine. Seriously.”

His words, however, were countered when Jim reached over to lay his hand on his shoulder and Neal jerked away.

“Sorry,” Jim said, quickly drawing away.

“So am I.”

* * *

 

“Why is the Tea Party in the rundown?”

“Will...”

“Why the _fuck_ is the Tea Party in the rundown?”

“It’s important news.”

“Did you watch the same video that I did?”

“Will,” MacKenzie said calmly. “The Tea Party is still important news. You’re going to tone it down, but we can’t stop reporting.”

“No way! Did you see what they did to him? Are you really going to risk ignoring their threats again?”

Mackenzie sighed. “We can’t not report on the Tea Party at the moment, threats or no threats. I’m not keen on it either, but you know we have to.”

“Jesus Christ, Mac. How’d it even happen in the first place? I got a single anonymous death threat on a website and I’m placed under twenty four hour surveillance. Meanwhile he gets a million and one posts threatening to smash his face in and in return gets what? A pat on the back, a smirk, and an ‘I’m sure it’s nothing, Neal’.”

“We fucked up! But we know they’re serious. We know not to go out alone, keep an eye out for anyone suspicious. And their faces were over that video - they’ll be found in no time, Will.”

“Fine! Whatever! Do what you want.”

With that, Will turned on his heel and stormed back into his office. Mackenzie sighed, shoulders drooping slightly as she watched him go. 

“You okay, Mac?” Sloan asked, coming up behind her.

“Yea. Yea, just tired.”

“Oh.” There was pause, before she asked, “Do you want a coffee or something?”

“That would be lovely. Thank you, Sloan.”

“Oh, I’m not getting it,” the other woman quickly replied. “I’ve discovered the wonders of interns when it comes to coffee runs.”

Mackenzie shook her head, finding herself unable to suppress a smile. “I hope you don’t take advantage of them too much.”

“Only once or twice a day.”

“So, coffee?”

“Right.”

Mackenzie watched as Sloan barked at an intern, shaking her head. It was such a moment of normality within a world that felt like it had been turned upside down. A part of her felt guilty for feeling light hearted watching her friend scare younger, less experienced workers, and it had nothing to so with the poor intern. 

With a sigh, she shook her head and returned to work.


	3. Chapter 3

Jim left Neal barely half an hour since he’d opened the laptop and seen the video. While loneliness and boredom quickly crept up on Neal, he was glad that the awkward silence and stilted conversation with Jim had ended. 

The rest of the day got frittered away. Neal spend a lot of time just laying back, staring at the roof and realising that they really, really needed to do something about the mold that had been growing on their roof for almost a month now. He was going to reach over to do a google search for mold removers when his phone chimed with a message. 

 **Will McAvoy -** Charlie said something about you going to see a councillor. I know a guy. Time and address attached. I’ll have it covered.

Neal stared at the message for a while. On a regular day, he had little contact with Will. And now he was sending him to his psychiatrist. It seemed surreal. 

 **Neal Sampat -** Thanks. You didn’t have to

 **Will McAvoy -** It’s fine, really

Will might think it was fine, but it tore at Neal. On the one hand, it was great to know that Will actually knew him and cared about him as something more than his blogger and weed supplier. On the other, he’d prefer for people to not know or care about who he was than get assaulted again.

A shudder ran through him at the thought. The ghosts of hands running over his body never seemed to stop, and even the bruises that had begun healing up ached like they had just been inflicted.

The clock on the wall read six o’clock - too early for Neal to even begin to consider going to bed, however much he might want to. It was also too early for Newsnight to be on, and too close to the broadcast to properly bother any of his friends for proper conversation. For a minute, he considered texting Shelly, before he remembered that she was still reasonably annoyed at him due to the disastrous interview with Will, and he didn’t actually want to explain to her why he had so much free time on his hands.

Knowing he really didn’t have anything else to do, he heaved himself off the couch and went to make himself a cup of tea.

* * *

 

“Good evening, and welcome to Newsnight with Will McAvoy. Tonight, we will be continuing covering the election and discussing candidates and parties. Despite attacks on an ACN reporter conducted by a group of tea party supporters, we will continue on reporting as usual.” 

“Mac!” Jim said, entering the control room. “I think you need to see this.”

“What is it?”

“More threats.”

Mac closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. “Who to now?”

“Nobody yet. They’re just general threats towards ACN and anyone who works for Newsnight."

“Okay. Don’t let anyone leave the building alone. Tell anyone who needs to go to make sure they don’t go out in groups less than three.” 

“Will do,” Jim replied, ducking out of the room. Mackenzie felt herself automatically slump slightly, the weight of the world resting on her shoulders for that moment. 

“Mac, we need to go to ad break in ten.”

Just like that, Mackenzie snapped back into EP mode, her back straightening as she began issuing orders and instructions to Will and the rest of the crew. If it looked and felt like her hands were shaking, it was just a trick of the light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yea, I know, it's short. But it achieves what it needs to


	4. Chapter 4

Neal had been to see a psychologist for the first time in 2005, after the bombings in London. He’d been told he was suffering from mild PTSD, with nightmares and occasional panic attacks. It had been annoying and embarrassing more than anything else back then - the triggers would overwhelm him and when he got back in control all he could think about was the tears streaming down his cheeks and the way that everyone seemed to be staring at him. 

Now, however, the circumstances were different. While the panic attacks were still tinged with that annoyance and embarrassment, they only tinged the true feeling of gripping, terrible horror.

He’d chose the embarrassment any day.

“So, tell me Neal, what brings you here today?” Dr. Jake Habib asked him.

It should be easy to say. Just tell him what had happened and the way it had been filmed and being forced into two weeks of paid leave and the way Will had taken care of the appointment and the fact that he couldn’t sleep and people’s hands on him made him sick.

But he opened his mouth and there didn’t seem to be any air. The words didn’t come, and he just closed it again, swallowing slightly.

“Sorry,” he said after his failure. The other man just smiled.

“It’s fine. Take your time. Just remember, I’m here to help.”

Neal pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes, not sure if he was trying to formulate a response or simply push the memories out of his head. Dr. Habib waited patiently for him to start, not pushing him the way he had to with Will. Finally, Neal managed to look up.

“Newsnight pissed some people off,” he said simply. “I was attacked due to my job as a reporter there. The attack was filmed and sent to my workplace, as well as many of the other major news companies. As a result, I was told to take some time off, and Charlie told me to go see someone.”

“I see,” Dr Habib replied, sitting down and jotting down a few notes. “Has this...attack...led to any lingering problems?”

Neal nodded slowly, a barely noticeable movement. “I...I can’t stand it when people touch me. At all. One of my best friends went to touch my shoulder and I almost had a panic attack.”

The doctor nodded. “That’s not an uncommon reaction, particularly if the attack was particularly violent or traumatic. Do you find yourself ever reliving the attack in flashbacks or in nightmares?”

“Yea, sometimes. A lot of the time.”

“Okay, Neal. It sounds like you might be suffering from something called post traumatic stress disorder. Are you familiar with it?”

“Yea. I, uh, had some issues with it a while back. I was on a train during the bombings in 2005,” he explained. Dr. Habib smiled warmly at him.

“Then I expect you know the drill. For the moment, I’m going to prescribe you with Prozac, as well as sleeping pills if you feel you need them. But these aren’t long term solutions, so I would like to have sessions with you at least once every week. Now, are you willing to tell me anything else about what happened?”

Neal hesitated, opening his mouth then closing it, considering. Finally, he spoke. “No. Not today.”

* * *

 

“Where’s Neal?”

Sloan walked into the newsroom, nostrils flaring with perfectly contained rage that’s control scared Mackenzie more than any raw fury. 

“He’s on leave. Why? What’s happened?”

“Mac,” Jim called from across the newsroom, voice doing that thing where it rose in intensity as he said her name, making her gut twist. “I think you really, really need to see this.”

“What’s going on?” she asked, striding towards his desk. He didn’t respond, simply turned his computer screen to face Mackenzie.

He was on youtube, and on the front page was a video with the title ‘ACN reporter pays his dues’.

The still clearly showed Neal’s frightened face.

“They leaked it,” she said, horrified. “They fucking leaked it.”

“Wait, you knew about this?” Sloan asked.

“You didn’t?” Mackenzie asked back. “But they sent it to everyone at every news station they could.”

Sloan stared. “They sent that to every new station?” When Mackenzie nodded, she looked like she was going to punch something. Remembering what had happened to the guy who leaked her nudes, Mackenzie wouldn’t put it past her.

“I’m gonna work on getting it taken down. Mac, you should probably go tell Charlie about this.”

“Also, tell Charlie I’m going out for a bit, but I’ll be back before we broadcast,” Sloan added.

“Why? Where are you going?”

“To see Neal.”

Both Jim and Mackenzie pulled faces at her. 

“What?” she asked.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Mackenzie replied gently. 

“Yea. You’re not exactly a people person at the best of times,” Jim added.

“This is different.”

“Fine. I’m not going to argue. But be gentle,” Mackenzie replied. Sloan nodded, turning and walking out of the newsroom. She’d barely disappeared out of sight when she came back in.

“I actually have no clue where he...”

“I’ll write down his address.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Erm not 100% happy with this chapter, but tell me what you think! You being the grand total of one person who may be reading this. Maybe.
> 
> I've also changed a little bit of the direction this is going in after that last episode. Which'll be fun! Anyway, I swear I'll try update soon.


	5. Chapter 5

Neal had been re-reading Lord of the Rings when there was a knock at the door. Deciding he couldn’t be bothered to deal with company, he ignored it in the hope they’d go away. 

The universe offered him no such luck, and the knocking came again. With a sigh, he closed his book and opened the door, plastering a smile on his face in the hope that it would convince Jim or whoever was knocking on his door that he was fine, and they didn’t need to be there so that they could just go.

When he wrenched the door open to reveal Sloan, though, the smile slipped and he furrowed his brow in confusion.

“How do you know where I live?” Jim, Kendra, Tess and Gary knew, but he couldn’t remember ever having said anything about it to Sloan. The woman shrugged in response.

“I made Jim tell me. Can I come in, or am I just going to have to stand in the doorway?”

“Right. Yea. Come in,” he said, moving away from the doorway and letting the woman in, trying not to fidget. “Do you want a cup of tea or anything?”

“Nah. I’m fine.”

The room got engulfed in awkward silence as Neal glanced down, playing with the sleeve of his cardigan. “Is there-”

“I wanted to-”

The pair of them cut off, having spoken at the same time. The awkward silence continued for a second, before Neal motioned for her to continue speaking.

“I wanted to see how you were coping. I hope you don’t mind me intruding.”

Neal shook his head. “Nah, it’s fine. And I’m coping fine.”

 _Also lying through my teeth,_ he thought. In a rare display of social empathy, Sloan picked up on it.

“You sure? You look tired.”

“I’ve been having a bit of trouble sleeping. But I’m fine.” _Go away. Please._

“You should talk to someone about it,” Sloan suggested. “It’ll make you feel better.”

“What the hell would you know?” he asked, snapping at his friend with annoyance. She didn’t even flinch.

“Second year of collage. I went out to a bar and someone slipped something into my drink and lead me out the back. I was conscious the entire time, but I couldn’t fight. I have never felt so powerless, so helpless, until my nude were leaked.”

Neal stared at her, his adam’s apple bobbing at he swallowed, guilt welling up in him as he stared at her.

“I-I didn’t know.”

“It’s not like I go around broadcasting it,” she replied. “And I was lucky enough to not have it pushed into the public eye. It still took me month before I was willing to leave the house on my own. I didn’t say a word about it until my roommate asked what was wrong. Telling her didn’t fix everything, but it took a weight off my shoulders. Made it easier, knowing someone else knew what had happened.”

Neal closed his eyes and sunk down onto the slightly ratty couch.

“It’s not as if nobody doesn’t know what happened, though. They’ve all... they all watched it.”

Sloan shrugged her shoulders. “You know me well enough to know that emotions aren’t my strongest point. I just think it might help.”

Neal shook his head, tucking his knees up to his chest. He stayed silent for a moment, before deciding her advice couldn't hurt. “It was just terrifying,” he said, so softly that the woman next to him could probably barely hear him. “There were four of them, and they had me pinned and I couldn’t get out no matter how hard I fought.”

A small shiver ran through him, and Sloan hesitated. “Do you mind if I put my arm around you?” 

The boy hesitated, before shaking his head. “I couldn’t stand it when Jim came near me before.”

Sloan nodded, respectfully keeping her distance much to Neal’s relief.

“I just felt so helpless,” he said softly. “They were touching me and I hated it and I struggled but they were just stronger. I barely put up a fight.”

“But you did. And even if you didn’t, it wouldn’t change anything. You were attacked, you survived, you’ve come out the other end. And right now, you’re probably feeling like you’re at rock bottom. But the thing about rock bottom is that now there’s nowhere to go but up.”

Neal stared at her. “That was a pretty profound speech.”

“I stole it off Mac. She used it on an intern when he broke down after I yelled at him for getting me the wrong coffee.”

There was a moment of silence, before Neal started laughing. Within moments, Sloan joined him. 

“I’ll have to thank Mac, then,” he grinned.

“Oi! I’m still the one who said it to you.”

His smile didn’t fade as he moved closer to her, so that he was just touching her. His body tensed for a moment, a tiny shudder running through him as his heart rate increased. But then he managed to relax, almost enjoying the feeling of Sloan beside him.

“I owe you.”

“Don’t mention it. Like, really don’t. It’ll ruin my street cred.”

Neal let out a small snort of laughter, gently nudging her.

"Still, thanks."

"No problem."

* * *

 

Mackenzie knocked on Charlie’s office door, apprehension rising in her. He opened it and let her in, turning to pour a cup of burbon. 

“Mackenzie. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Someone posted the video of Neal on youtube. And it’s on the front page.”

The sound of glasses slamming down on the table echoed through the room. Mackenzie watched, fearless, as her boss stood over the table, shaking ever so slightly.

“I thought youtube had policies against that sort of thing.”

“Jim’s reporting it,” Mackenzie replied. “It should be taken down soon.”

“Do we know who posted it?”

Mackenzie shook her head. “I didn’t take note of the username.”

Charlie turned around to pace when Jim knocked on the office door.

“What?” Charlie snarled.

“Youtube has a message saying that it will take five days for our request to be processed. We can try taking further action, but I don’t know how well it’ll work.”

“Have you figured out who posted it?” Charlie asked.

“It wasn’t a news corporation, so I’m assuming it must’ve been the tea party supporters.”

Charlie rubbed his face in frustration. “No reporting on the tea party until this is sorted out.”

“I’ll contact the police. See if they can figure out the IP from where it was posted.”

Charlie sunk down into his chair, looking vaguely defeated. “What if it wasn’t the tea party supporters?”

“What?”

“What if it wasn’t tea party supporters?” he repeated, more desperation in his voice.

“Who would it be, then?”

When Charlie didn’t reply, Mackenzie felt her heart sink. Whatever it was, Charlie's silence could not mean good news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NEAL AND SLOAN ARE BROS  
> Also I'm kinda slow at updating. Sorry


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is late - computer issues and school got in the way
> 
> Also Don and Jim are emulating Dr. Cox and JD from scrubs and I don't know how or why that happened

It had been five days and Neal was beginning to go stir crazy. He’d gotten the memo everyone else had - _lock your door and don’t go out alone._  

Every day someone from the newsroom would come visit him, usually bearing some sort of food. Jim and Sloan came the most, with Sloan visiting seemingly whenever she had a free moment, and Jim making sure to pop in at least once a day. Gary, Kendra and Tess had all visited once or twice, too, to varying degrees of awkwardness. 

This day, however, neither Sloan or Jim came to visit him. Nor did Gary, Kenra, or Tess. 

“Maggie,” he said, surprised to see the girl. The two of them were friendly, but never really had much to do with each other simply because she either dealt with her issues herself or dumped them onto Jim instead of enlisting him to go on wild goose chases for her. “Um, come in.”

“Thanks. The office is really busy right now - three major stories broke and I’m the only person who doesn’t have extremely important contacts or skills, apparently.”

 _That makes me feel so much better,_ Neal thought to himself.

“Jim and Mac know I don’t need a babysitter, don’t they?”

“It’s Jim and Mac,” Maggie replied. “And I can understand where they’re coming from. Did you know that fifty percent of rape victims develop post traumatic stress disorder? And people with post traumatic stress disorder are...”

“Four times more likely to commit suicide or experience suicidal thoughts. I know.”

“Just saying. They do have reason to be worried."

“Well, they should know me better than that,” Neal replied, automatically defensive. He was not suicidal. He refused to be. He refused to let this beat him. Maggie looked him over with a critical eye, sharper and harsher since Africa. 

“When was the last time you slept?”

“Does it matter?”

Maggie smiled, a dry, slightly smug smile. “Like I said, they have reason to be worried.”

Neal groaned, pushing the heels of his palms into his eyes as he fought back frustration.

“You’re a crappy babysitter, you know that.”

“I thought you didn’t want a baby sitter.”

He had to take a deep breath, his eyes squeezing shut. “I’m going to make a cup of tea. Do you want one?”

“If you’re making it, I’m up for it.”

Neal nodded, moving to head over to the kitchen when a thought occurred to him.

“Did it make it easier?” he asked.

“What?”

“Cutting your hair. Did it make it easier to deal with what happened?”

Maggie shrugged her shoulders. “In a way. Why?”

“I was thinking of doing it to mine. Just...shaving it all off.”

“You’ll remember what happened every time you look in the mirror.”

“I already do that. I can still feel their hands...”

“It’s up to you. It is still your body, after all.”

“I’ll try to remember that,” he smiled.

The rest of Maggie’s visit was conducted in silence, but it wasn’t nearly as awkward as Neal expected it to be.

* * *

 

“Neal still won’t let me touch him.” 

“Whoa there, Jim. Too much information,” Don said, stopping and turning around.

“Not like that. Just, anything. I so much as brush against him and he acts like I’ve burned him.”

“Well, Jimmy boy, have you ever considered the fact that he was, you know, raped? I don’t know about you, but I’m sure as hell I’d be jumpy if that had happened to me.”

Jim sighed, scrubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands. “I just...I want everything to go back to normal.”

“Jim,” Don said, turning to face him. “You do realise that this isn’t about you, don’t you?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then be a big boy, suck it up, and stop complaining.”

Jim’s shoulders rose and fell as he attempted to calm himself. “I’m just worried about him.”

“I think we all are, Jim. In fact, I’m sure we are. But we’re not doing him any good by worrying about him, so I think we should all just get on with our jobs.”

“How do you manage it?” Jim burst out. “How do you manage to keep up this... aloof asshole persona?”

“Worrying and fretting won’t help him. Support and respect of his boundaries will. Grow up and learn that lesson.”

* * *

 

Mac had been having her first moment of reprise since the news dam had broken when Sloan cornered her, looking much more concerned than Mac felt she was physically capable of dealing with right now. Still, she was executive producer and, for some god unknown reason, Sloan’s go-to person for advice. She took a deep breath in, mentally preparing herself as Sloan began to talk. 

“I’ve been thinking that I should ask Neal to move in with me.”

“What?"

“I’ve been thinking that...”

“No, I got what you said. The what was purely an exclamatory response to fill in for various other questions that immediately come to mind, including but in no way limited to ‘why?’ ‘in what way is this a good idea?’ and ‘you have a spare room?’.”

Sloan kept her cool, as always. “Yes, I have a spare room. Lots of my family and friends live internationally so when they visit it’s nice if they don’t have to stay in a hotel. And I want to ask him because he’s obviously not coping half as well as he thinks he is and right now I’m the only person he can stand to be around.”

“How is he not coping?” Mac asked, slightly confused.

“Have you spent any time with him at all? He’s fine with me, but the very second Jim or anyone else enters the equation it’s like he’s balancing on the tip of a blade and the smallest quiver could send him crashing down. And he always proclaims that he’s fine and acts like nothing phases him but dear god, if you were to apply the slightest pressure he’s going to shatter.”

“And you think him moving in with you is going to help that?” Mac asked, trying to see Sloan’s logic.

“I know anything would be better than where he currently is. His roommate is barely ever home - works three jobs as well as studies, apparently. He spends most of his time alone, and that can’t be good for him.”

“Sloan, you spend a ridiculous amount of time here,” Mackenzie reminded her. “How much better would you be?”

“I don’t know. I just... it feels like the right step, you know?”

Mac nodded. “I know. You should ask him, at least. See what he thinks, but don’t pressure him.”

“I won’t. Thank you.”

“You take care of him, Sloan.”

Sloan nodded. “I will.”

* * *

 

Charlie poured himself another cup of bourbon, feeling the energy draining out of him as he read and re-read the letter that had been delivered that morning. He drained the glass in a long, drawn out draught, before standing up and heading to Will’s office, sweeping Mackenzie up as he walked. 

“I’ve got some bad news. The people who attacked Neal were no more tea party supporters than me and you. And I don’t think the man who did organise this is anywhere near finished with him or us.”

“What?” Will asked, eyes wide.

“Charlie, explain this. Slowly. From the beginning.”

Charlie gave them both long looks, before launching into the whole story.


	7. Chapter 7

"Did you even question why Neal was the one targeted? Of everyone in this newsroom, they chose the low level blogger with little to no input in what Will says? Wouldn't attacking someone higher up make more sense?"

"I just assumed it was because he was young - he seemed more innocent. You or Mac wouldn't've had the same impact."

"But it was a show of power!" Charlie cried. "They threatened him before they even made their move. Jim's not too much older than Neal, and is a hell of a lot closer to you than him. Maggie's young, impressionable, and already in a vulnerable state of mind. Even Don would make more sense as a target than Neal to someone whose only motive was to get to you."

"Ok, Charlie, we get it. Get to the point."

"Do you remember David Pressman?"

"The tech intern who got fired for posting his opinions on our operations on the internet?"

"The tech intern who got fired for posting his opinions on our operations on the internet by none other than Neal Sampat, then committed suicide by overdose after having fallen back on drugs after having lost his job. Now, I don't know what you guys think, but that sounds like a much more solid motive than revenge against Will to me."

"So you think some friend of David Pressman's trying to get revenge on the person they think is responsible for his death?" Will asked.

"I don't think that David Pressman had many friends, and those he did have were not close enough to him to be willing to pull it off. No, I think it was Shep Pressman, his father, who set this up."

"Well, okay then! What can we do to take him down?" Mac asked. Will and Charlie shot each other looks, and Mac frowned. "What? What's wrong?"

"Shep Pressman is head of Press in Naval Intelligence. And those guys protect their own like nothing else."

* * *

It was almost the end of Neal's first week of enforced leave, and he'd never been so grateful to be half way through a paid holiday. He'd worked his way through the entirety of Tolkein's works, completely redone the ACN website's code, and tried his hardest to avoid the internet after discovering many of his most frequented sites were awash with the youtube video. Even his personal email was filled with messages from his web friends who knew he worked at ACN. For once, the internet wasn't his safe haven, and it was driving him up the wall.

So when whoever that day's newsroom babysitter knocked on the door, he wasn't so much reluctant as apathetic, almost enthusiastic. Anything to break the dull monotomy of staring at the mould crawling across his apartment's ceiling.

Standing in the doorway, however, wasn't any of his newsroom friends. No, his landlord stood there, looking decidedly awkward.

"Mr. Landsdown. What are you doing here?" he asked, manners gone.

"Can I come in?"

The man didn't wait for an answer, brushing past Neal into the room. Neal couldn't suppress the way he shuddered at the feeling of Mr. Landsdown's shirt brushing over his bare arms.

"Do you want a cup of tea?" Neal asked automatically.

"No, I'm not planning on staying long. I just thought that I should give you your notice now. Your lease is up in a month, and I'm not planning on renewing it. I am going to be selling this place, and I have no idea who's going to buy it or what the future owners have in mind for it, but you and your roommate need to find a new place to live."

His hand rested on Neal's knee in what was probably meant to be a comforting gesture, but Neal's skin started to crawl, breaths coming in quickly.

_No. Not here, not now._

"I'm sorry. You two have been good tenants, and I wish you luck in finding a new place."

It was so utterly surprising to Neal that Mr. Landsdown seemed to be unable to hear his thudding heart. It was all he could do not to cry out in relief when he stood up and left, saying a farewell that was completely drowned out by his panic. All he could hear was whispers of how pretty he was, what a good boy he was, how good they would make this feel, and he could feel their hands at his pants and there wasn't even the slightest fumble with his zipper as they came off so smoothly and easily and how the hot, wet breath in his ear hissed out that he should smile for the camera and his heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest.

"Neal. Neal! Look at me."

Sloan's voice broke through the panic, just barely.

"Are you okay? Do you want me to count your breathing?"

Neal managed to shake his head, just barely. The feeling of hands on skin didn't fade, but his vision began to clear, and he managed to meet Sloan's eyes.

"How'd you get into my apartment?" he managed to choke out.

"Someone was just leaving, so the door was open. Are you okay? He didn't do anything to you, did he?"

"No. No, he's my landlord. Just dropped in to tell me that they're kicking us out at the end of the month and then he touched me and--"

He couldn't help the hysterical laughter bubbling up, filling the space as tears began rolling down his face.

"And I had a fucking panic attack because some dude I've known for years made friendly physical contact."

Sloan watched, eyes wide, as the laughter stuck in Neal's throat, the man sounding like he was going to hyperventilate at any moment now.

"I spent the whole day thinking about how glad I was that I've only got a week before I can go back to the office, but I can't even touch someone without remembering like the pathetic piece of shit I am!"

"You're not a pathetic piece of shit, Neal. They are. They're the ones who should be feeling like this, not you."

The laughter slowed to hiccups.

"They're not going to, though. They're probably laughing to themselves right now about the kid they left sobbing on the street as they publish that fucking video. And just...fuck, I have to go looking for somewhere new to stay."

"Well, about that last thing. As I'm sure you're aware, I own a pretty nice apartment in the city. And I just happen to have a room that needs filling."

"There is no way I could afford the rent of a place like that."

"Did you miss the bit where I said I own the place? Seriously, so long as you're willing to help cover the bills and food costs, you can stay for as long as you want."

"Are you sure?"

"Yea, of course."

Neal managed to crack a watery smile.

"Thank you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back and realising that the context of series 3 is very different to series 2, but meh. We'll live. Sorry for the major gap in publishing times, and hope that you enjoy this update
> 
> Also I can't remember if Shep Pressman's son was given a name, so he's called Simon here because I'm too lazy to go back and check ((Edit: Shep's son was david not simon shhh))
> 
> Also also lets pretend that what Don said tonight didn't happen because like holy fuck what a mansplaining piece of crap that was. Planning on re-writing that eventually where it's handled in a not crappy victim blaming rape culture way


End file.
